A modern database application program can provide graphical user interfaces for visually displaying and editing data stored in a database. The data can be retrieved from the database as result sets (sometimes referred to as found sets) using one or more database queries (sometimes referred to as find requests). A result set can include a collection of data records. The data records in the result set can be formatted for display. For example, in a database program for auctions, a user can query for a particular item or category of items being auctioned (e.g., “computers”). In response, the database program can return a result set containing data records on matching items. Each data record can correspond to a particular item. The data record can correspond to formatting information that specifies how the various data fields concerning the item (e.g., name, price, description, and picture of the item) can be displayed on screen.
The user can view each item individually, or view multiple items in a list. When the user views an individual item, the display can be formatted using the corresponding formatting information. For example, the name, price, and description of a computer each can have a specific font, display size, and color. The picture can be displayed at a particular positioned on screen. In contrast, when the user views multiple items on a display screen, the records can be arranged as a table or a list. Displaying the items in a table or a list can hide the corresponding formatting information for the item. Therefore, viewing the table or list of auction items, the user may not see how each auction item will be presented when displayed individually.